One of the Thousand Reasons I Love My House...

During this time of year the sun sets around 5:30 every evening.

One of the many thousands of reasons I love my house is that from our couch I can look to my right through our sliding doors into the backyard, through our neighborhood, and all the way to the horizon and watch a gorgeous sunset every evening.

The picture really doesn't do it justice, and it was taken after the fact.

It never fails to take my breath away.

Christmas in Wisconin

I still cannot imagine Christmas without snow, and so Nathan and I headed up to Sheboygan, WI to spend the week with my mom and dad, Grandpa and Grandma Buck. It was a WONDERFUL week and we were both spoiled like crazy.

Nathan got to see and play in snow, and then drive in a snow/ice storm on the way to the airport when we left Thursday night. That was a quick reminder for me that I am happy to live where I do! We almost got rear-ended and saw mulitple cars skid and a couple in ditches. No thanks...I'll stick to my sunny 60 degree winter weather! ;) Thank you Florida.

Here are a couple of pictures from our week:

 Which tree should we pick mom?

 Decking the halls...and the tree! :)

 Making cookies!

 Being goofy with Grandma and Grandpa Buck!

 Waiting to see Santa!

 Christmas dinner, yummy!

 Our first (and only!) snowfall of 2010

Watching the Christmas parade

Christmas in Wisconsin

Nathan and I had a wonderful week in Wisconsin hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Buck and seeing all the aunts and uncles except Uncle Kevin and Aunt Amanda in Baltimore who couldn't make it home. It was a very fun week filled with activities and lots of attention and spoiling of Nathan!

Thanksgiving by the Pool

Our little indians...

 Thanksgiving by the pool...a first for me!

z

Decorating for Christmas

We REALLY tried to wait until after Christmas, but just couldn't! We had a fun evening...

Already have a stocking for Baby #2, just need a name to go on it!

He was a big helper this year with the tree!

Daddy and Mommy's nativity

Nathan's nativity

Advent wreath

Nathan's tree that is in his room, it is the perfect night light!

Thanksgiving

You know you are a pastor's family when: yoru son asks "Why doesn't Caillou say a prayer before dinner?"

We have so much to be thankful for. I feel like this is a very generic post, but it is just so important to remind ourselves of the absolute abundance that we live in. We have felt so blessed this year for so many things:

1) Direction to our call here in Florida this spring
2) Celebrating the end (finally!) of Zach's seminary
3) Safely packing up, moving down, buying a home, moving in, getting settled.
4) Weddings of our siblings Charista Zehnder to Peter Baye and Peter Buck to Teesh Baudhuin
5) Announcing the birth of our second son in April, bringing me (Allison) through the first half of pregnancy which was pretty rough
6) the Hoyer family: Paul and Betty and Ben and Megan who have been so essential in our transition to Florida. We treasure their friendship so much.
7) The Cross East Lake, our new church plant and MOST specifically the people who join with us hand-in-hand: the Buntzs, the Nutters, the Bergmanns, the Starks, the Africanos, the Glienkes, Tiffany Guido, the Moores, Frank Kipp, Beth Thorton, the Stephans, the Seiglers: you guys are amazing.
8) Our supportive family and friends back in St. Louis, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and all over the States. We love you so much, and love to hear from you and feel your prayers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First Florida Blog

We have been a little lazy with our blog because facebook is just so much easier, but we are going to get back into it, (thanks for the inspiration Charista and Peter!)
I don't think we need to catch anyone up on any information since I have been posting pretty regularly on Facebook, but I am going to try to use our blog again. I am going to keep a running list of "you know you are a pastor's wife when..." stories. Here is the latest one:

Last night at 3:00 am Zach suddenly sat up and put his hand on my shoulder (waking me) and began praying that a family would be "sent a car so that they can use it abundantly for Your will. Amen" Then he layed back down and kept sleeping. This morning he has absolutely no recollection of any of this. I guess there was someone out there who really needed a car...he has NO idea were it came from, he doesn't know anyone who needs a car!

Homemade Pizza on a Friday Night! Yummy!

Our Last Days in St. Louis

Florida Move Update...

Because we put an offer on a short sale, we are still waiting to hear back from the bank. The average wait period is 60-75 days, and since it has only been about 30, we aren't surprised by this. Therefore, we are going to be renting a house in Florida while we wait to hear back from the bank.

We will either get our offer accepted from the bank on the house we want, or else we will just keep looking! The movers come Thursday, June 17, which is less than two weeks away now. We are excited to get this new chapter in our life started!

Another "Oh Nathan!" Moment

Anytime we drive by our normal stops: grocery store, gym, sub shop, bookstore, Target, etc. and don't stop, Nathan announces to anyone in the car that the particular establishment is closed.

Evidently, it would be unheard of to drive by Target without stopping if it were open.

Oh Nathan! :)
I bet there are people out there who completely adhere by Nathan's logic, I mean...if it's open...well, there is always SOMETHING you need at Target, right?

I play it safe and do not frequent Target more than once a month...

Play Dough

Nathan's Mini-Obsessions!

Since Nathan has been about 7 months old, he has had what Zach and I call "mini-obsessions" with various objects. During these obsessions Nathan MUST at all times have the item of choice with him, generally holding it. It goes into the baths, mealtimes, naptimes, car rides, running errands, to the park, and even while he is trying to play with other toys. It has caused us endless frustration when we can't find it or when we can't take the item with us, but we have been troupers and beared it all with patience and new-parent cluelessness!

I will do my best to remember them all and list them in chronological order:

Travel Toothbrush holders
Travel-sized shampoo and conditioner bottles
Oven mitts (don't ask)
Duplo Legos (just the little square ones in a long line)
A toy mailbox
Dr. Seuss board books
Straws
2 trains: Big Thomas, a reg. sized train and Baby Thomas: a small Thomas train christmas ornament
Two plastic cell phones
Plastic Food (only the orange and lemon)
Two metal bowls, one big and the other small with lids and wooden fruit inside *this was a REAL fun one.
Two Silly Putty boxes
Three Psalty the singing Songbook CDs
Movies (DVD's) (currently he MUST have with him his Caillou, and two Wiggles DVDs)


I know there are more, and I will keep this list updated so that I can tell him when he is older!

We have stopped complaining about his current obsession because he manages to find something EVEN WORSE to carry around.

As a side note:

He is also in LOVE with Veggie Tales fruit snacks which doesn't seem all that wierd, every kid likes fruit snacks right? There is more...
Inside each bag there are seven different characters that are different flavors; he has decided that he only preferes ONE, Madame Blueberry. So in one packet you may get one, two, and if you're lucky three, but there are also times when there is none. I have yet to meet a kid who will like only ONE of the flavors in a fruit snack packet. Only Nathan! :)

He keeps our life very interesting! And we love him!

Our Last Saturday at Crave

Tonight is our last Saturday at Crave. Our first Saturday at Crave was three years ago, almost to the exact date. It is hard to believe that much time has passed already.

In 2007 we had just found out that our vicarage (pastor internship year) was at Crave/Christ in the City Lutheran Church in St. Louis. It was an answer to a lot of prayer and we were excited and happy. We would be able to stay in our home, I could keep my job there in St. Louis, and because I was pregnant with Nathan at the time we wanted to avoid switching doctors. Plus, we would be able to work with a congregation that wanted to do things out of the box and with college ministry, which was right up Zach's alley. But we had no idea how much Crave would impact our ministry, marriage, and our relationship to the Lord.

I can't speak for Zach, but I know that tonight will be a difficult night for us both as we say good bye to people who have been so near and dear to us. I recieved so much love and support through the difficult months after Nathan was born, I don't know how I would have gotten through it without Crave folks! I have been a part of a wonderful small group as well as welcomed whenever I could make it to the Acts 64 ministy. I even got to learn the ins and outs of a coffee shop by working there for about 8 months in 2009. I have also had the opportunity to develop good friendships with some wonderful college girls who have spent more hours in our home watching Nathan than I could count. I credit them for my sanity!

Crave has been and will always be a special place for Nathan. Crave has been Nathan's church his entire life. We first took him to Crave when he was two weeks old! The members of Crave have gotten to watch Nathan grow up over these past two and a half years, and have endured all kinds of noises (good and bad) and activity during church. Thanks for your patience`

At Crave everyone looks out for him. If I get caught up in chatting with someone before or after church, I always know Nathan is just an arm's reach away from a protective or loving person, no matter where he is. The girls working behind the coffee bar have gotten very good at pulling espresso shots with a two-year old underfoot!

We have witnessed firsthand a group of people dedicated to service and sharing the gospel. We will value and cherish the lessons we have learned about the importance of making a penny stretch, seeing potential and gifts in every person, and selflessly giving for the sake of the gospel.

Because of vaious circumstances, we were able to stay at Crave not one, not two, but three years. What a blessing! God had much for us to do and much to teach us through those three years and we couldn't be more grateful for the extra time we got to spend with all of you!

Thank you and God's sweet blessings to each and every one of you!

(One more thing I will GREATLY miss: I have gone to church on Saturday nights at 5:30 pm for three years now, so I may be in for a shock when I have to get up Sunday mornings again!)

Silly Nate-Nate!

A visit to Dr. Seuss's...

We took Nathan to see his pediatrician because he had a really strange rash. We told him on the way that we would be seeing Dr. Yassin and that she would be looking at Nathan's rashes and giving us medicine to help him feel better.
When Dr. Yassin came into the room, Nathan gave her a big smile and said, "Hi Dr. Suess!"

(She did say that she has been called worse! ha ha)

Mother's Day

Zach combined Allison's three loves: himself, a long bike ride, and Missouri's wine country! It was a long ride back though...ha ha. A Wonderful Mother's Day!

Short Sale in FL

                           

This is a picture of the house we are going to put a bid on. It is a short sale, so we have no idea what will happen with it. It is on a golf course and has a lanai with a pool in the back. We like it but will have to wait now to see what happens...

It was only 5 minutes!

Yesterday as I was changing sheets on the bed, Nathan decided that it was time for him to have a snack. He went downstairs, opened the fridge and got out his FAVORITE: whipped cream cheese. Then he went to the pantry and got out a box of crackers.
By the time I got downstairs to see what he was up to, half the tub of cream cheese was gone as well as most of the crackers. All's well that ends well...but he did have a stomach ache that night!

And we are taking an indefinate break from cream cheese.